Something's Fishy at Sunday Stamps

I'm so glad to be back designing with this great team again - and excited to have a couple new members too! I took about a two-month hiatus and it feels good to be getting all inky again. This week we've got a colour challenge - Pink Pirouette, Old Olive & Marina Mist.

I've been wanting to make this type of card for a while now and since I never inked up my By the Tide stamp set yet, these colours were calling me to do so! My paper was cut down to 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" and I scored at 3-1/2" and 6". Next, I rant my Window Framelits through the Big Shot, making sure to only have my cutting plates over top of where I wanted to cut. Once that was done, I stamped all my images.

Lastly, I ran my card base through again, this time with the Fancy Fan TIEF. I actually ran it through twice because I wanted the texture to be running a certain way. I thought this TIEF looked like fish scales. ;)

To finish things off, I stamped on a separate piece that I cut with the same Window Framelits and then  layered with my various pieces & some twine. The sentiment is from the new And Many More... stamp set. I love the birthday font and the entire set is fast becoming my go-to for sentiments!

Hope you'll play along with us. You've got two weeks to link up, the collection closes on Friday, September 5th. Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT for great inspiration... and welcome the new members too!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Old Olive, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Ink: Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette
Stamps: By the Tide, And Many More
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Typeset Alpha Bigz Die (retired), Modern Label Punch
Accessories: Twine
Challenge: Sunday Stamps

I'm Baaaaa-ack!

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post!! I have been on a hiatus, dealing with some personal issues, in which I had to pack up my craft space. :( Anyway, I've created a temporary space now so that I can get back to my crafty ways. I'm also very excited to be able to get back to Sunday Stamps and design with the other very talented DT ladies!!

I didn't make it back in time to post for this last challenge, but I will link-up. I had a lot of fun with this sketch and it helped me design this custom card for a client. Check it out:

I kept the card relatively simple, but added lots of texture with a doily, some buttons and ribbon. The paper doily was inked up with my Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities to create an Ombre effect. That effect was kinda lost when I cut it in half and pleated it, but you can still see the different tones. ;)

The buttons are some retired SAB freebies from a couple of years ago and instead of threading them with ribbon, I punched the flower shape from the retired Punch Pack from the same DSP I used on the card.

The ribbon is also retired (jeez, I didn't realize how many retired items I used for this card!) and I wrapped it around my card front and then glued a few strips on top to create a fringe.

Hope this card inspires you... and for even more inspiration, check out what the other DT members created for you. You have until Friday, August 22nd to link up and join the fun!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Smokey Slate, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities
Stamps: And Many More...
Tools: Big Shot, Decorative Dots TIEF, Typeset Alpha Bigz Die (retired)
Accessories: Basic Grey Stitched Ribbon (retired), Rich Razzleberry Buttons (retired), Paper Doilies
Challenge: Sunday Stamps

Sunday Stamps SSC78 - Late Again!

Well, I don't know what to tell you. I've been seriously ignoring my Blog!! Now that the weather has been better, I just want to be outside... and at the end of the day, I'm exhausted from following my two munchkins around. ha. I will try to be better. Promise!

A week and a day ago, we posted a new challenge over at Sunday Stamps. It is a great sketch challenge and one I think I will be using over and over again!

I was commissioned to create a custom card for an 80th birthday. I thought this sketch would work well for what I wanted to do. I flipped the sketch on it's side and created away. I kept it pretty simple, but adding a bit of shimmer with some Gold Specialty Paper & Champagne Glimmer Paper. It was for a man, so I could't go overboard with it. ;)

We hope you'll get inspired with us this week. You have until Friday, June 27th at 6 p.m. to link up and play along. Hope you will!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Night of Navy, Gold Specialty, Champagne Glimmer, Very Vanilla
Ink: Midnight Muse (retired)
Stamps: Memorable Moments
Tools: Big Shot, Scallops TIEF (retired), Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die (retired)
Challenge: Sunday Stamps

Custom Retirement Card

As you may know, there's nothing better than a handmade gift &/or card. They're so thoughtful & personal and I like to add that touch whenever I can, at the very least, always with a handmade card! Well, one of the benefits of going handmade with me is that I can customize... and my customers love that! Here's my most recent custom order:

I was asked to create a custom retirement card for a Red Wings fan & car lover. Well, I think I accomplished that! Since it was a retirement card, I fancied it up with Glimmer Paper - red, for Red Wings - and sports cars that I heat embossed in gold & silver combined.

The card itself is 8" x 10", my customer wanted it large enough to have room for many people to sign. Working with bigger designs is always harder for me, but I really love how this one turned out, and the important thing is, my customer did too!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Red Glimmer Paper
Stamps: Rev Up the Fun (retired)
Tools: Heat Gun, Big Shot, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies (retired)
Accessories: Silver Buttons (retired), Gold/Vanilla Bakers Twine

70th Birthday

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it was my dad's 70th birthday. Today I'll share the card I made for him for all to sign.

My dad is an awesome guy and on top of that, an inventor, handyman, woodworker and the best father and "Opa" to her children a gal could ask for. I wanted something classy & sparkly, but also something that resembled him too, hence the Hardwood stamp & silver button (retired).

I also used a new stamp set that you'll find in the 2014-2015 Annual Catalogue - Work of Art. I gave you just a small sneak peek of the set, but I think you're gonna love it. It's so versatile! I stamped several images in Silver and then heat embossed in silver too. The "70" was cut out with the Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die (that's retiring!) in Silver Glimmer Paper (that's also retiring!)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Silver Specialty, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Silver
Stamps: Hardwood, Work of Art (sneak peek), Remembering Your Birthday
Tools: Big Shot, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Silver Embossing Powder
Accessories: Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Silver Button (retired)
Techniques: Heat Embossing

Christmas in July Series - Post 3

If you missed the previous posts, you might want to check them out starting a couple of posts back. I'm doing a week-long series on Christmas cards, but not using Christmas stamps. Here's today's:

Paper: Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Silver Glimmer
Ink: Basic Gray
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree
Tools: Big Shot, Heat Tool, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die, Snowflurry Bigz Die
Accessories: Doily

Ok, so this isn't my favourite. It looked so much better in my head! ha. I hardly ever plan my designs out... I just create as I go. This one seemed to take hours!

The Typeset Alpha Bigz Die is so versatile! I've been using it a lot. On this card, "N O E L" fit just perfectly. After stamping and embossing the trees and cutting my letters, I thought it needed something else. After playing around with several ideas, I thought about using a doily. It didn't look quite right when I just laid the doily down, so I got the idea to cut a snowflake into it. It works, but I've got some other ideas floating around in my head with those doilies, so stay tuned...

Anyway, it is what it is. Maybe you love it. Creators are their worst critics after all. :)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

What's New and MM?

I'm still here... have you been wondering what's going on in my life? Well, my littlest one hit the 3-month mark over the weekend (can't believe that!) and life with kids is pretty busy, but on top of that, we have also decided to sell our house, so that makes life pretty crazy around here lately! Having to keep the house spotless for showings is near impossible with little ones! haha.

Being kicked out of the house for showings and raising two kids has left me little time for designing, but I also didn't want to craft much because my space becomes buried in mere seconds when I'm working. :) It's an organized chaos though... but I didn't think potential buyers would appreciate that.

Anyway, some of the projects I'll be showing you over the next few posts are ones I've done a while back, but haven't yet had the opportunity to showcase them here on my Blog. Here is one CASEd from one seen on Pinterest:

Paper: Basic Gray, Pool Party, Silver
Ink: Basic Gray
Stamps: One in a Million
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Punches: Heart, Owl,
Apothecary Framelits, Typeset Alphabet
Accessories: Pearls

I added a few more layers and dimension then the one I saw and I'm happy with how it turned out. Although, many ask me what "MM" stands for. I thought it was pretty clear that it stood for "Mr. and Mrs." but maybe I'm wrong... what are your thoughts?

Thanks for sticking with me during this time where I'm horribly neglecting my Blog. I appreciate your following and comments!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph